We invite you to attend an upcoming public meeting on Thursday, August 21 to show your support for the Cook County Forest Preserve’s North Branch Trail extension project.
If you walk, jog or bike on the North Branch Trail then you have experienced moving from busy streets into quiet woods where the sounds of the city quickly fade away. You may have seen a deer or two.
Trail users can hop on at Caldwell and Devon Avenues and travel north along the north branch of the Chicago River to the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe.
Next Spring, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County plans to make this experience even better by extending the trail south from Caldwell and Devon to Irene Hernandez Woods at Foster and Kostner Avenues. From there bicyclists can connect to the Sauganash Trail to the north, the Lakefront Trail to the east or the planned Weber Spur Trail to the northeast.
Active Trans supports the vision proposed by the forest preserve, which creates the most comfortable route for the broadest cross-section of trail users. The south trail extension will provide greater access to more people and open up more destinations for users.
Some residents, citing concerns about tree removal and public safety, have proposed an alternative route that would take the trail extension onto neighborhood streets, which would turn off many potential trail users and seriously compromise the experience of riding on the trail.
Please join us on August 21 to show your support for the existing plans for this important link in our regional trail network.
What: Cook County Forest Preserve District open house on North Branch Trail extension
When: August 21, 6-8 p.m.
Where: 6100 N. Central Avenue, Matthew Bieszczat Volunteer Resource Center